It may be better to think in terms of "historically important mines". Most
mines could claim to be historic, but mines which have a history defined by
documentary sources and archaeological evidence have a stronger case. This
is a question of theoretical approaches to mining history and you could
consider examples which define technological advancements, i.e. that first
known example of............ or the biggest example of .............On the
other hand sites which are well preserved examples of an average mine from a
particular period have a high significance as they are more representative.
This has been the main focus of the Monument Protection Programme studies of
extractive industries, carried out by English Heritage, which have been on
going since 1989. In many cases due to a lack of detailed research or
fieldwork, importance and significance is implied rather than proven and
judgements made about significance have been the opinion of the assesor and
information available at the time. This has led to the scheduling of many
sites which were considered nationally important but others have slipped
through the net, often because there was insufficient information or
understanding available at the time of assesment. That does not mean these
sites have lost out, as it is possible to present case for protection to
English Heritage and in my experience this is well worth doing.
It is woth pointing out that this process only applies to surface or burried
features as it is currently only possible to protect underground features if
they are directly below a significant surface site.
Martin Roe
Conservation Officer NAMHO
National Association of Mining History Organisations http://www.namho.org
Lead Mining in the Yorkshire Dales
http://www.mroe.freeserve.co.uk
The Industrial Heritage of Calderdale
http://www.halifaxcouriertoday.co.uk/ftpinc/calderheritage
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